Wow, although I don't fall in the "church kid" category from my childhood. I think this book is meant to be out in the world. Especially for young teens/adults. I initially had doubts by the strong Christian rhetoric but I was so happy that I continued because it was nothing I expected. The main characters Meg and Micah were perfect.

Listen, I loved More Than Maybe, but I just couldn't with this book. I will be frank and say I did not grow up in a church and I did not grow up with this forced modesty and emphasis on abstinence, so this world is largely unfamiliar to me.

I think it brings up plenty of important topics and conversations that need to be had regarding young women, sexuality, and, specifically, religious expectations. However, I also felt so much of the character growth was underdeveloped and not logical. It simple felt unrealistic that someone who grew up in this conservative family with these very modest beliefs would so quickly be able to stand up for different beliefs and understand the need to treat young girls differently, to prevent shame and guilt as it relates to sexuality or even puberty.

Overall, I will still seek to read Erin Hahn stories, but this one was simply not meant for me.

This story of a teen learning her strict Christian upbringing was a lie couldn't be farther from my own experience as a Jewish person. I like reading and learning about different backgrounds from my own. I appreciate seeing Christians raised in a very conservative environment grappling with their belief systems and learning that many things they've been told about how the world works and how to judge people are wrong. That being said, I am still not super comfortable with a super Jesus-y book, and I don't think this was the right book for me. Others may feel otherwise and I'm sure there are teens for whom this book is not only important but necessary.

Erin Hahn delivers again! Readers won't be able to help rooting for Meg and Micah, both for themselves, their personal journeys, and the love that grows between them. In the most beautiful way, Hahn explores life beyong religious restrictions.

I finished this book with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Coming alongside Meg and Micah as they found healing from traumatic church culture broke my heart and put it back together. Hahn tells this story with so much care, and it’s beautifully crafted. I wish I’d had this book when I was a teen. It’s romantic, heartfelt, and so, so cathartic.

Okay so I DNF'ed this one too. Mainly because I felt it was super preachy at times. I liked the premise of the book, and the idea that there's both good and bad to religion and the people who use it for either or. I liked Micah as a main character, and I felt so badly for him mainly because of what he was going through with his father and the media attention on him. I did feel that although the author added LGBTQ+ rep in this book, and tried to discuss topics that are often shied away from in Christian circles, I felt it was overshadowed by the religious content.i honestly feel I'm not the right audience for this book, but I felt that the writing was really well done if a bit religious heavy. I will say what I did read was cute but yeah, def not the right audience.

I'm not sure why I thought I'd like this book and my rating reflects my own personal take. I do think that for the right reader, this would be an enjoyable coming of age and romance book. There was a bit too much religion for me, however.

Overall, I thought this was a good YA book. The story was so very sweet!! It is a rather religious book, but I did not mind that. However, I know that some might not like that. I found it very heartwarming, and the couple was so adorable.

When Meg Hennessy discovers that her parents have been lying to her since she was born, she leaves home to travel north to meet the family she never knew about, instead of heading to college. Meg meets Micah, another troubled and confused teen, and decides to stay awhile. Both begin a journey of self discovery and fall in love in the process, but some obstacles can definitely hinder true love.

As I was reading, I realized that a few of the characters were familiar from More Than Maybe, by the same author and was excited because I loved that book. Never Saw You Coming is quite a different book from the previous, full of faith and prayers, but still stole my heart. The richly developed characters and realistic topics were highly engaging and current. I could not put it down. I highly recommend as this is something I’d want my teenage daughter to read.

"You jump, I jump, Hennessey."

A beautiful coming-of-age story about two teenagers who come from very strict, conservative families and are learning where they stand in society. Meg and Micah both have a lot of family baggage, but the way they support and respect each other is truly heartwarming. Issues of peer pressure and family trauma are all emphasized in this book. My heart broke for Micah when he went to confront his father :) truly a lovely story!

Like a few other reviews I’ve seen, I struggled with rating this for the religious aspect.

The main characters were adorable and the relationship between them is precious but the religious aspect just really overshadows the main story for me.

I absolutely loved More Than Maybe so I hate that this book wasn’t a stronger rate for me but I’m just not the right target audience for it. If you can get over the religious aspect it’s a good book!

Never Saw You Coming is the story of two teens Meg and Micah. Both of them are at a point in their lives where they don't know what's going on or who to turn to for support. But they have each other. Really enjoyed this story!

Erin Hahn writes fabulous YA books with excellent chemistry and build up between the two MCs. The small details and thought that goes into every detail of her story always has me coming back for more!

I loved how Meg and Micah both were able to build a friendship while working through the issues that bought them together in the first place, and building up to something deeper and longer lasting!

I will say, I did want there to be redemption for their church experiences, as it seems that it painted all churches to be as closed and narrow-minded as what was in the story - but at the same time I can appreciate that this story wasn't headed in that direction.

Thank you to NetGalley , Wednesday Books for the ARC!

This is another Erin Hahn book that I loved ("More Than Maybe," the previous book which Meg also happened to be in, is the other). Hahn has a tough fence to straddle--those who find the book too religious, and those who feel the book wasn't religious enough, as in it depicted liberalism and girls having rights and feelings and stuff. Seeing Meg struggle in the wake of family betrayal--medical recordshas you angry along with her. Hahn's depiction of Meg's conflicted feelings--the guilt and shame she feels about maintaining her "purity," the one thing she feels makes her hold any value in her Church--is heartbreaking. Micah's turning his back on church is totally understandable--when your father's a fallen pastor who stole money from the congregation and pressured female congregants into sex, and your mother insists you forgive him, anyway, it'll make you pretty bitter. But I bought his feelings for Meg, and their crushing on each other. It's Hahn's dialogue that always makes the difference.
And it's always fun to see Luke and Vada again!

Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn, 320 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2021. $17. LGBTQIA
Language: R (90 swears, 48 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Meg just found out that her dad isn’t really her dad, making her gap year to find herself that much more important. Micah has mostly avoided thinking about his dad, but the upcoming parole hearing is reopening the not-quite-forgotten wounds. Affected by choices that weren’t their own, Meg and Micah struggle to move forward under the burden of their pasts.
Meg and Micah have relatable struggles with self-acceptance, with forgiveness, and with their relationships with God. My family issues and my wrestles with my faith felt understood; seeing my heartache and confusion in these pages was comforting, like being heard and supported by a close friend. Hahn expresses genuine pain, genuine healing, genuine sorrow, genuine joy -- genuine journeying through life. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, mention of illegal drugs, innuendo, discussions of sex, and mentions of orgasm, masturbation, and rape. The violence rating is for mentions of intended suicide and of a gun.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

TW: slut shaming

This is a story about two people who have lived their lives in a religious setting and have struggled to find both room for themselves and room for their beliefs.

Meg recently discovered that her father isn't her real father. Her mother had relations out of wed lock and then married her biological father's best friend. In an attempt to discover more about her family she leaves to meet her real father and grandmother.

Micah is the son of a pastor who embezzled the money of the congregation. Micah father is now in prison and Micah's faith hasn't been the same since.

This deals a ton with religious ideals and trying to keep your faith, even when it seems hopeless. Micah is still judged based on the sins of his father, and Meg's relationship with her mother is strained.

This was completely out of my normal reading tastes and while there was nothing explicitly wrong with it, it was a bit too religious for me. I didn't see myself in either of the MC's. I think there are definitely people who will find this more relatable and I found it to be a very well written and a well conveyed book. It just isn't for me.

Religion is messy, but I think it's important to realize that your life—including the people in it and the things you've experienced—is different from everyone else and there is no one right way to be a Christian.

Meg Hennessy's life doesn't look quite the same after learning her ultra-conservative mother had a one night stand as a teenager, got pregnant, and never told the father before he died in a drunk driving accident. Meg's dad isn't her dad, and now he's leaving. In an attempt to regain control and discover who she really is, Meg goes to meet her biological father's family. Along the way, she meets Micah Allen, who has his own daddy issues. His pastor father is currently in prison for sexual harassment and financial crimes, and Micah wants nothing to do with him or the church. Together, the pair help each other heal, face their struggles with their faith, and figure out who they are meant to be.

While Wednesday books was kind enough to offer me an e-arc of this book, I chose to read the audiobook instead. The narrators for this were great and they really brought Micah and Meg to life with a story that is as sweet as it is complicated and aching. The narrator for Meg especially, she really captured her bubbly, effervescent personality well.

If like me you read More Than Maybe, then you will already be familiar with Meg. She is a right ray of sunshine in that book as Vada's best friend, and her world has been shattered here in her own story. She is in a big rebellion stage—her first, actually. Leaving home and going to meet her birth family, staying on her own, getting a job job, spending time with a boy, buying a two piece and watching r-rated movies. She has been very sheltered her entire life, both as a homeschooled kid but also as a highly conservative Christian, so her transformation as she discovers things about herself is so refreshing. Reading her say sex instead of boinking, properly cussing because it feels right, and experiencing a real relationship with a boy was really heart-warming and speaks so much to how she grows.

Micah is new for the reader, but that didn't make me love him any less. He is very much the stoic grump to Meg's sunny disposition, but there is still so much emotion within him. When we meet him, he's trying to distance himself from his past. He's moved into the separate apartment on his mother's property, he's avoiding church as a whole, ignoring the fact his dad's hearing is coming up, and losing himself on hikes and outdoor adventures. I don't think his development was as strong as Meg's, but I don't think I minded much.

The romance in this was very sweet. It's a little insta-love, and it's definitely vanilla because let's face it, they're still church kids with a lot to unlearn on either side. For example, Meg has a lot to work through when it comes to sex. Her mom had a one night stand when she was her age, so how can it be all that sinful. Sex isn't dirty and you shouldn't have to save every single inch of your body for marriage. It's your choice what you choose to do, not the church's, and you are not going to hell if you kiss a boy. Still, Micha's and Meg's relationship is very natural for a teenage romance. It takes these characters to places and situations that not a lot of the more out-there contemporaries do, so it's still important when it comes to the discussion of sex in teenagers.

I tend to avoid Christian-centric books, but something told me this was one I needed to give a chance. And I'm glad I did. Like the two main characters, I've had a rough relationship with my faith in the last several years. My family is nowhere near as conservative as Meg's is, but too much stuff happened all at once and no amount of prayer seemed to help, and it took a toll. I still believe in God and absolutely consider myself a Christian, but it took a while for me to figure out how I wanted that to look. Like Micah, I don't enjoy church, and like Meg, I don't like how we are told how to act and who we can be around in order to be a good Christian girl. It was really nice and kind of freeing to see my own thoughts and feelings about my faith put down in words that make sense.

As much as I want to give this five stars, something seems ... off. I can't help but feel that I still have questions that need to be answered, or the characters didn't get the right kind of closure for everything that was brought forth. It was a wonderful read with a lot of humour and heart, but I feel like the ending wasn't as conclusive as it could have been.

I think I need to reread Erin Hahn's debut because I don't understand how I didn't like it. Everything she has written since has been a home run for me and she has become a rare favourite for me in this genre. Looking forward to her next books!

Meg Hennessey is trying to figure out who she is. Life has just thrown her a massive curveball and now she has decided to pack up her life and move closer to family that she never knew existed until recently. When she arrives Meg runs into Micah, someone who can relate to her ultra-conservative upbringing. Together the two navigate their complicated relationship with religion, their families and who they are becoming outside of the beliefs that they were raised with all while experiencing the bliss of a teenage first love. What was going to be a gap year has now turned into a lesson of discovery for Meg, one that she never saw coming. "Never Saw You Coming" is a heart-warming coming of age story that is so much more than a YA read. I'm sure I wasn't Erin Hahn's target audience when writing this book but I found this such an enjoyable read. This book is not an anti-God story at all but does hold a lens up to questionable practices in some churches and the hypocritical standards they can hold some of their parishioners to. I would highly recommend this book for older teen/YA readers in your life. Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Erin Hahn's latest romance is just as fun and sizzling as her previous novels, but this one explores newly emotional territory as she investigates purity culture in Christianity (and expectations for young women's sexuality in general). Watching her characters fall in love and heal from their internal wounds is, as a result, even more uplifting and satisfying than ever before.

great book as always. Erin gives me feelings on everything whenever she writes. her characters will make you laugh, cry and just be grateful for your life. She writes like a poet. I will recommend her work and have recommended to everyone